Tiny homes and hotels offer solutions to rural housing shortage

The shortage of suitable housing, particularly rental accommodation has been a barrier to employers wanting to hire staff or seasonal workers, with farmers sourcing dongas or relocatable homes including so-called tiny homes.

On the Sunshine Coast, Aussie Tiny Houses sales and marketing manager Alex Monteiro said a small portion of their market was purchased by primary producers across the state who viewed the accommodation as an affordable option.

"Around 10 per cent to 15pc of our tiny homes are bought by employers looking to house workers on farms and in rural areas," he said.

"In Queensland so far we have supplied our houses to rural employers who have located them on properties from Rockhampton to the NSW border.

"Our tiny houses can be moved around one part of their property to another depending on the season and the work which needs to be done there."

Mr Monteiro said their range of portable homes which came in different styles and sizes, from two to four people as well as offering solar panels, grey water diversion and composting toilets, could be entirely off-grid.

"Out largest tiny house which can accommodate four people and are 10m in length starts from $139,000 turn-key ready to move in, but you can get upgrades," he said.

"The other day a farmer told me what interested him about our tiny houses for staff accomodation was they are transportable .

"So his idea was to leave it parked in one place for one season's work and then he can move it around to accommodate workers on another part of the farm to do particular work in the next season."

In the state's citrus capital of Mundubbera, there's zero rental properties listed on a popular real estate platform and of the 25 properties available to purchase, only six were not on acreage with a median of $242,550.

It means when fruit pickers arrive to work the harvest trial in the North Burnett, workers have limited options.

In Mundubbera at the Royal Hotel owner Garry Palmer, said his establishment was constantly busy with visiting workers undertaking contracts in and around town.

While the town's usual population of 1300 surges when seasonal workers on the harvest trail arrive to pick lemons, manadarns, oranges, mangos, blueberries, pecans, avocados, lychees, peaches, nectarines, watermelons and rockmelons, his clients are more likely to be tradespeople.

"Even though we are in the citrus centre, we cater more for tradies coming here to work on infrastructure projects as well as in agriculture and horticulture," he said.

"The blokes that mow the roadside grasses, electrical workers, blokes putting in irrigation, cement contractors and carpenters, they'd all rather stay here than drive 45km to Gayndah or 35km to Eidsvold."

Mr Palmer said many of his guests had stayed at the Royal Hotel before. .

"The blokes keep coming here as the accommodation is good, they get a king-size single in a room with air conditioning, a big TV and and a full-size freezer and fridge to keep their esky cool to take to work the next day."

In Roma, a town with a 2023 population of 13,255 permanent residents, there are lots of jobs available but a housing shortage is an concern according to Roma Commerce And Tourism general manager Debbie Joppich.

A search of real.estate.com revealed in Roma on May 23, there were 11 properties for rent and 170 properties to purchase with the median house of $320,000, up 13 per cent in the past 12 months, while to rent a property would cost $380 per week, up 8.6pc during the same time.

"For some of our members, housing is definitely one element of attracting workers but it's not the only factor," Ms Joppich said.

"A lack of housing options is an issue to helping the region attract and retain people."

Ms Joppich said the RCAT would be part of an upcoming immigration session to investigate opportunities to bring in skilled offshore workers to the town and region.

"We have opportunities for people in childcare, healthcare, hospitality such as chefs, skilled oil and gas workers and opportunities for skilled workers at the meatworks at Charleville," she said.

"There are opportunities here across the gamut."

Ms Joppich said life in a town "with one set of traffic lights and an average of a three minute commute" would be very attractive to people in cities facing hours in the car or on public transport to get to work.

"In the regions we have to be better at telling the story as to why we are a fantastic place to live, have a career, bring up your family and have a really great life," she said.

But without more available accommodation, it won't be easy for rural and remote businesses to thrive.

For Roma real estate agents Raine and Horne principal Steven Goodhew and administration manager Sharon Goodhew, many clients they liaise with are people moving to the region or investors.

The duo agreed Roma like towns everywhere across the state, had few properties available for lease.

"The rental market here is indicative of what is happening no matter where you go," Ms Goodhew said.

"It is indicative of what is happening no matter where you go, but In the last two to three months our residential sales have been very busy.

"With investment properties they are mostly changing hands from one investor to another so there's not many opening up to rent, but we are getting more owner-occupiers buying too."

Mr Goodhew said as well as residential properties in Roma being snapped up, Mitchell which is 88km west was also jumping.

"We have sold quite a few houses there," he said.

"It's never been very busy but we have sold so many in the last 18 months, now people want to invest and are putting some up for rent.

"But for many buyers these are more for lifestyle rather than commuting into town."

On May 23, the Burnett MP and registered builder Stephen Bennett challenged Housing minister Meaghan Scanlon in parliament to provide the "true cost" breakdowns of tiny house social housing projects across the state.

Mr Bennett said taxpayers had potentially paid over $1 million each for the two new state government modular tiny homes in Bundaberg.

Mr Bennett said he's concerned by what appears to be wasteful expenditure while social housing waitlists continue to grow.

But Housing minister Meaghan Scanlon disagreed.

"Our Homes for Queenslanders plan is boosting our social housing Big Build and getting tradies on the tools to build the homes Queenslanders need," she said.

Know more about this issue? Contact Alison Paterson on 0437 861 082.